6.  The applicant was born in 1967 and is currently detained in Baku.
7.  The applicant was a member of Chechen rebel groups fighting against the Russian regular army in Chechnya. According to the applicant, he participated in military operations in Chechnya in the years 2000 to 2002. In early 2002 he stepped on a landmine and lost a part of his leg below the knee. He was wanted in Russia as a participant in military operations and terrorist activities in Chechnya and Dagestan in the period from 1999 to 2002. He was also suspected by the Russian authorities of being one of the perpetrators of a 2002 bombing in Kaspiysk, Dagestan.
8.  In 2002 the applicant fled to Baku using a different name (apparently using false identification documents in the name of Mr Rizvan Magomayev). He applied to the UNHCR Baku Office under this false name. The UNHCR issued a statement (valid until 30 June 2005) noting that he was a person of concern to the UNHCR.
9.  While in Azerbaijan, the applicant established criminal contacts with an organised group of people responsible for a homicide, falsification of documents, illegal possession of firearms and other criminal offences. On 19 April 2006 the Assize Court of Azerbaijan convicted him of founding an illegal armed group and illegal possession of firearms, and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment.
10.  Shortly after his conviction in Azerbaijan, on 7 July 2006 the Russian authorities sought the applicant’s temporary extradition in connection with the criminal proceedings concerning the offences he was alleged to have committed in Russia. According to the temporary extradition request, two separate sets of criminal proceedings were pending against the applicant in the Russian republics of Dagestan and Kalmykia under part 2 of Article 105 (aggravated murder), part 3 of Article 111 (premeditated infliction of grievous bodily harm, with aggravating circumstances), part 2 of Article 112 (premeditated infliction of actual bodily harm, with aggravating circumstances), part 3 of Article 205 (terrorism, with aggravating circumstances), part 1 of Article 208 (operating an illegal armed group), part 3 of Article 222 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or bearing of firearms, ammunition or explosives, with aggravating circumstances), Article 279 (armed mutiny) and part 1 of Article 327 (forgery of official documents) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and part 3 of Article 144 (theft, with aggravating circumstances) of the Criminal Code of the Russian SFSR. It was noted that, according to the investigation materials, the applicant had committed, among others, the following criminal acts: (a) in 1999 in Dagestan, he participated in “armed mutinies” with the purpose of overthrowing the constitutional government and violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation; (b) on 9 May 2002 in Kaspiysk, he had been in charge of the unlawful armed group which had committed the bombing attack in Kaspiysk that had resulted in the deaths of 43 people and injured 138 people; (c) at an unspecified time, he had used a false passport; and (d) in 1995 and 1996, the applicant, as a member of an organised group, had committed acts of burglary and theft in the Republic of Kalmykia and in the Rostov Region.
11.  On 29 July 2006, in accordance with the 1993 CIS Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters (“the Minsk Convention”), the applicant was temporarily extradited to Russia for a period of three months pursuant to a decision of the Prosecutor General. The period of “temporary extradition” was subsequently extended while the applicant was in Russia.
12.  According to the applicant, after his transfer to the Russian Federation, he was initially detained in several SIZO and other detention facilities in Dagestan, including one in Khasavyurt and one in Makhachkala. While he was initially questioned concerning his suspected participation in the 2002 Kaspiysk bombing, it was eventually found that he had not been involved in it and the charges in this respect were dropped.
13.  By a judgment of 13 December 2006 of the Novolaksk District Court in Dagestan the applicant was convicted under part 2 of Article 208 (participation in an unlawful armed group), part 1 of Article 222 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or bearing of firearms, their basic parts, ammunition, explosives, or explosive devices) and part 1 of Article 327 (forgery of an identification document or other official documents conferring rights and privileges) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced to five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment. It was found that the applicant had committed, among others, the following criminal acts: in 1999 the applicant had fought against the Russian federal forces as a member of illegal armed groups in Chechnya and Dagestan; from 2000 to 2003 he had carried out various instructions issued by K.A., a commander of an illegal armed group in Makhachkala, had been in close contact with the other members of that group and had lived clandestinely with them in various flats in Makhachkala and Khasavyurt; and in August 2003, he had obtained a false passport and had illegally crossed the Russian-Azerbaijani border under a false name.
14.  Following this, the applicant was transferred to Astrakhan and Pyatigorsk, and from there to Elista, in the Republic of Kalmykia. On 18 April 2007 the Yashalta District Court, located in the Republic of Kalmykia, convicted the applicant of theft (committed in 1996) under part 2 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment. The above sentences were partly merged in accordance with Article 69 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, resulting in a final sentence of six years’ imprisonment.
15.  According to the applicant he was subjected to ill-treatment during his temporary extradition in Russia. He alleged that he had been beaten and humiliated during the investigation proceedings and detained in appalling conditions. He also alleged that he had not had access to a legal representative and had been convicted in breach of the guarantees provided for in Article 6 of the Convention.
16.  Following his conviction by the Yashalta District Court, the applicant was transferred to Derbent, Dagestan, and subsequently, on 23 June 2007, returned by the Russian authorities to Azerbaijan to serve the remainder of his sentence imposed by the Assize Court’s judgment of 19 April 2006.
17.  It appears that, about a year later, in August 2008, while serving his sentence, the applicant underwent a medical examination following complaints about digestive problems. Following the examination, on 8 August 2008 the Medical Department of the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan informed the applicant’s lawyer about the results of a number of medical tests carried out. It stated that the tests had ruled out the existence of any bleeding in the digestive system and had found relatively minor conditions such as gastritis and duodenitis. The statement further noted that the applicant’s state of health was satisfactory and required no surgical intervention.
18.  On 30 June 2008 the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation sent a letter to the Azerbaijani authorities seeking the applicant’s extradition for the purpose of execution of the six-year prison sentence imposed by the Russian criminal courts on 13 December 2006 and 18 April 2007.
19.  The extradition request provided, inter alia, the following assurances:
(a)  the applicant would not be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention and by other relevant international treaties;
(b)  the extradition was not sought for reasons of punishment on such grounds as political affiliation, race, religion or ethnic origin;
(c)  in accordance with the Minsk Convention, the applicant would only be subject to criminal punishment for the offences in respect of which his extradition was sought and he would be free to leave the territory of the Russian Federation after having served his sentence.
20.  However, in response, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan informed the Russian authorities that, at that time, the extradition request could not be granted owing to the fact that the applicant was serving his sentence imposed by the judgment of the Assize Court of 19 April 2006 and that this sentence would expire on 25 July 2012.
21.  On 28 June 2012 the Russian authorities renewed the extradition request of 30 June 2008, asking the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan to take a decision on the applicant’s extradition after he had completed serving his sentence in Azerbaijan.
22.  Following receipt of that request, the Nizami District Prosecutor’s Office applied to the Nizami District Court for an order authorising the applicant’s detention pending extradition, which was granted on 13 July 2013 (see paragraph 29 below).
23.  On 3 August 2012 the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan granted the Russian authorities’ request and ordered the applicant’s extradition to the Russian Federation under the Minsk Convention. He referred to the fact that the applicant had been convicted in the Russian Federation for acts which were considered to be criminal offences under Azerbaijani legislation and were punishable with imprisonment (Articles 279.1, 228.1, 320.1, 177.2.1, 177.2.3 and 177.2.4 of the Criminal Code), as well as to the fact that the applicant was a Russian national and was not an Azerbaijani national. Accordingly, there were no legal obstacles to the applicant’s extradition.
24.  The applicant’s lawyer lodged an appeal with the Sabayil District Court challenging the Prosecutor General’s extradition order. Among other things, he argued that, if extradited, the applicant would be subjected to torture and inhuman treatment in the Russian Federation. He noted that, under applicable Azerbaijani law, existence of a risk of ill-treatment was one of the grounds requiring a refusal to extradite.
25.  On 23 August 2012 the Sabayil District Court upheld the Prosecutor General’s extradition order of 3 August 2012 as lawful, referring to the same grounds as the Prosecutor General. The applicant’s lawyer, but not the applicant himself, was present at the hearing.
26.  The applicant appealed, arguing that there was a real risk of his being subjected to ill-treatment if he was extradited.
27.  On 3 September 2012 the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Sabayil District Court, referring to the same grounds as the Prosecutor General and the Sabayil District Court. The applicant and his lawyer were present at the hearing. No further appeal lay against the Baku Court of Appeal’s decision.
28.  On 20 September 2012 the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation sent a letter to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan, stating, inter alia, the following: (a) during his stay in Russia from July 2006 to June 2007 under the temporary extradition order, the applicant had not lodged any complaints with the Russian authorities concerning ill-treatment or any other violations of his rights; and (b) the period of the applicant’s detention in Azerbaijan pending extradition to Russia, starting from 25 July 2012 (the date of expiry of his prison sentence imposed by the Azerbaijani courts), would be credited as part of the total sentence of six years’ imprisonment imposed by the Russian courts.
29.  As noted above, based on an application by the Nizami District Prosecutor’s Office, on 13 July 2012 the Nizami District Court ordered the applicant’s detention, for a period of one month, pending his extradition to the Russian Federation.
30.  It appears that, subsequently, on 18 September and 11 October 2012 the Khazar District Court extended the period of detention until 13 October and 13 December 2012, respectively. No copies of these decisions were submitted to the Court.
31.  On 6 December 2012 the Khazar District Court extended the period of the applicant’s detention by two months (until 13 February 2013), noting that the applicant’s extradition had been suspended in compliance with the interim measure indicated to the Azerbaijani Government by the Court under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court. Among other things, the Khazar District Court found that the applicant’s arguments concerning the risk of ill-treatment were unsubstantiated, referring to the letter of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office of 20 September 2012 stating that the applicant had not complained of ill-treatment during his temporary extradition in 2006 and 2007 and to the fact that, since his return to Azerbaijan in July 2007 and until the extradition order of 3 September 2012, the applicant had not raised any complaints before the Azerbaijani authorities of ill-treatment in Russia in 2006 and 2007.
32.  No further extension decisions are available in the case file.